On the final day of our Peace Communication trip in Northern Ireland, June 11, our group explored a wide range of topics, including museum curation in post-conflict settings, international support for peacebuilding, gender advocacy, and the role of education and culture in promoting nonviolence. This full itinerary gave us an impactful and productive cross-section of how different elements contribute to the peace process in the North of Ireland, and how nonviolent strategies can take many forms beyond what we typically imagine.
(Photos from the Ulster-Scots Discovery Center)
We began our day at the Ulster-Scots Discovery Center, where we were introduced to the history and identity of the Ulster-Scots community in Northern Ireland. Deirdre, our speaker, discussed how Ulster-Scots, a primarily Protestant community, historically migrated between Northern Ireland and Scotland and faced persecution, including famine and massacres during the 1641 Rebellion. Many eventually migrated to America in search of stability and new beginnings. Despite being underrepresented in the broader national narrative of Northern Ireland, Ulster-Scots culture survives through music and marching bands, showcasing how communities preserve identity through cultural expression.
(Photos of the speaker Katy Radford and the British Council in Belfast.)
Next, we visited the British Council Northern Ireland, where we heard from Dr. Katy Radford, a social anthropologist. Radford emphasized the importance of nonviolence through the lens of storytelling, art, and education. She spoke about working with both victims and former combatants to create immersive narratives that offer empathy and understanding. This is a form of nonviolent resistance, what Smithey (2018) calls prefigurative collective action, where communities use symbolic, cultural, and educational tools to construct a more peaceful future.
Jonathan Stewart, Director of the British Council Northern Ireland, spoke after Radford, outlining how the organization offers international trust through English language education, arts programs, and cultural exchanges. These efforts, he explained, are essential in promoting peaceful democratic values, especially among youth and the younger generations. This nonviolent strategy aligns with Smithey’s broader definition of nonviolence, which includes proactive, educational, and community-based initiatives.
Kater Hughes from the Electoral Commission further reinforced this concept by discussing how educating young voters about democracy and elections builds political trust. His work aims to reduce the spread of misinformation on social media and empower informed civic participation, another pillar of nonviolent engagement.
In contrast to the British Council’s active peacebuilding role, we also spoke with a representative from the Irish Consulate. Their work in Northern Ireland remains limited due to the region’s ongoing constitutional status, though they support cultural exchange and reconciliation efforts. This contrast helped me appreciate how different governments approach nonviolence with varying degrees of influence and commitment.
(Photos from the Ulster Museum at Queen’s University)
We then visited the Ulster Museum’s “Troubles and Beyond” exhibition, where artifacts and memorabilia from the conflict — including a poster listing 300 murdered RUC officers — were displayed. The curation of memory in this context serves as a nonviolent mechanism for truth telling and collective reflection, allowing society to process trauma without resorting to violence.
(Photos from the Elaine Corry panel and of the speaker)
Our day continued with a panel discussion at the Maldron Hotel with Elaine Corry, a Women’s Sector Lobbyist with the Women’s Resource and Development Agency (WRDA). Corry discussed how loyalist paramilitary violence and gender inequality still affect women in Northern Ireland. Her advocacy for reproductive rights and childcare infrastructure through cross party coalitions, including members of Sinn Féin, is a prime example of nonviolent protest. Smithey (2018) discusses how nonviolence is not passive; it is often revolutionary. The WRDA’s panels, campaigns, and educational outreach all fall under this definition.
(A photo of Bebhinn McKinley the speaker.)
Our final session of the trip was a course reflection with Bebhinn McKinley, a Peace and Reconciliation Practitioner. McKinley works with local government on issues like territory, protest rights, and peace walls. She emphasized that lasting peace requires community ownership, open dialogue, and cultural sensitivity. Her work highlights the structural challenges to nonviolence, including spatial segregation and generational trauma.
As I reflected on the day, I realized that nonviolence is not a single method but a diverse strategy encompassing art, protest, education, gender advocacy, and community healing. Elaine Corry’s WRDA activism and Katie Radford’s narrative work both fall within this tradition. Even museum curation and voter education can act as tools of resistance against extreme divisions and violence. Smithey (2018) describes this, showing how the Peace People in Northern Ireland combined principled belief in nonviolence with strategic public protest to build a mass movement for peace.
However, this does not mean nonviolence is adequate on its own. During our visit to the Free Derry/Bloody Sunday Museum, Caitlin Asking reminded us that paramilitary violence and unemployment still deeply affect younger generations. Nonviolence must be coupled with economic justice, trauma-informed education (such as transgenerational trauma), and community-based therapy to address the root causes of conflict. Peace is not just the absence of war but the presence of justice and opportunity.
Our final day of the trip brought together multiple layers and forms of peacebuilding from the symbolic to the structural and challenged us to consider what a nonviolent society would require.
Smithey, L. A. (2018). The Peace People: Principled and revolutionary nonviolence in Northern Ireland. In F. L. Flesher Fominaya & G. C. Johansen (Eds.), The Troubles in Northern Ireland and theories of social movements (pp. 203–221). Amsterdam University Press.